NS to introduce more high-frequency corridors

DUTCH infrastructure manager ProRail has been granted €43m by Mrs Stientje van Velthoven, secretary of state with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, to allow Netherlands Railways (NS) to introduce more high-frequency passenger services. NS will contribute €27m to the project.

The work will enable NS to operate inter-city service every 10 minutes and regional trains at least every 10 minutes on the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport - Utrecht - Arnhem - Nijmegen and Breda - Eindhoven routes.

High-frequency operation will be introduced on the Schiphol - Nijmegen corridor in December 2021, while the Breda - Eindhoven high-frequency service should follow in December 2024.

The first high-frequency service was launched in December 2017 between Amsterdam, Utrecht and Eindhoven after a period of trials. On average, high-frequency operation increases capacity by 15%, while reducing waiting times at stations and increasing the availability of seats on trains.

However, due to the 10-minute frequency, interchanges with other services, which generally operate at 30-minute or 15-minute frequencies, can take longer.